In 1606, the surviving conspirators in the Gunpowder Treason plot to blow up the English Parliament and the king of England on Nov. 5, 1605, were convicted. They were executed four days later.

In 1785, the first public university in the United States was founded as the University of Georgia.

In 1880, Thomas Edison was granted a patent for an electric incandescent lamp.

In 1888, The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington.

In 1910, Thomas Crapper, often described as the prime developer of the flush toilet mechanism as it is known today, died in England.

In 1926, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird launched a revolution in communication and entertainment with the first public demonstration of a true television system in London.

In 1967, U.S. astronauts Virgil Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in a fire aboard the Apollo 1 spacecraft during a launch simulation at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

In 1973, the United States and North Vietnam signed a cease-fire agreement. The same day, the United States announced an end to the military draft.

In 1984, Singer Michael Jackson suffered a burn on his scalp during the filming of a soft-drink commercial.

In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan acknowledged mistakes and accepted responsibility in the Iran arms scandal.

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